A BUBBLE BURST

Dominion, Volume 8, Issue 2318, 27 November 1914, Page 6

A BUBBLE BURST

DISPROVED MR. MASSEY'S CHALLENGE At Lower Hutt last evening the Prime' Minister (Right Hon. W. 1 ? . Massey) dealt with the alleged ostrich farm scandal, which' Opposition candidates have' been endeavouring to convert into political capital. During the earlier part of the addross there were occasional cries for some information "about the ostrich farm," and Mr. Massey warned the'interrupters that in a little while they would regret that they had spoken. When Mr. Massey did deal with tho matter, and issue a challenge on the BUbject, he'was cheered to the echo. "I. have been looking forward to the opportunity of clearing this up, and fni ?, K - lt} up iu Wellington," he said, ihe Waiuku branch railway line, be explained, was in the district which he represented. • The line was surveyed and practically agreed to fifteen years before he becamo member for the district. Later, when Sir William HallJones was Minister of Railways, bo (the then Minister) was waited on by a, deputation, in reply to which he said that the line would bo made, and that he believed it would pay. . "The lino is closely settled, by industrious settlers, and it will. pay. There is no question about that," added Mr. Massey. Some years ago an Auckland resident established the ostrich farm. That ii::m died, and a number of people in tho neighbourhood conceived the idea of

forming a little company. Mr. Massey was by that time the member for the district, and when they approached him he agreed to put £500 into the concern. The company were not as successful as they had expected to be, and they came back to him again,' whereupon ha put in another £500. They paid the trustees of the deceased'founder of the

farm £17,500 for tho land, which was thou unimproved—growing scrub, etc.. They spent money improving it, and today they had a decent property. The property had never paid them a cent in dividends, but they had not complained, and some day iihey would get their money back, it was. suggested that he had'procured the branch railway line for tho purpose of benefiting tho.property ho had a 6hare'in. The property already had a frontage to the main lino, bo how on earth"was the land going.to be benefited by a branch line,? -He did not pretend to be any better than his average fellow citizen, but he was straight—(applause)—and if thoro was anything wrong in thiß matter, did they tJhhik that ho could leave hie electorate at the present time and, come down here? The chairma.ll of a recent meeting, held by his opponent for the IJTanklin seat dtfr. Glass) had said at the meeting that it was contrary to fact to say that the farm' benefited in any way by the line. ,'A certain Wellington newspaper had made insinuations against him (Mr. Massey) in this matter, and he "challenged that' paper to speak out plainly. )x it said that ho used public money for his own benefit.-he promised the paper'an opportunity ot proving the allegation in tho 'courts of this country, it it cost him his last shilling. A Btorm of applause greeted Mr. Massey when he concluded his referencett»' the subject. .